what the hell will they do for mass effect 4 * spoilers* * spoilers*

[Nieroshai]

I got all the mass effects for xmas and loved it. I just finished ME3 and then i heard they were making another mass effect, and i was thinking to myself what the hell are they going to do since they killed of Shepard and all 3 endings are completely different

Probably either a prequel or an event way after the destruction of the Mass Relays. Not featuring Shepard of course, unless the Starchild lied about the whole becoming part of the Reaper hivemind/dying/becoming the fuel for the synthesis, and it's not really all that permanent. Of course, I feel each ending makes a sequel hard because they change the universe drastically. How are we going to fight mechs if synthesis happened? How would you tie the endings back into a broader choice-based story without making at least two different games? But EA aside, I trust Bioware's writing.

 

[Product Placement]

i heard they were making another mass effect

...

At any rate, like others are saying, it's most likely gonna be a prequel. There's no way you can continue the story in any meaningful way, without Bioware officially declaring what color of an explosion Shepard picked.

 

[Ren_Li]

I'm sure they've actually talked about moving it well away from combat and the military, and I believe focusing more on exploration. Which means it will either happen before, or during, the Mass Effect trilogy. (Unless I dreamed that up!)

The endings- as bullshit as they are- are too varied in their potential futures to go forwards. Not only that, but there's our choices for Shepard.
Are there Geth? Are there Quarians? Are there both? Or even neither?
Are the Krogan rebuilding and living productive lives? Are they focussing on war and running rough-shot through the galaxy? Or are they extinct?
Just the outcome of TWO ME3 storylines can have an absolutely massive effect on the future of the galaxy. I can't believe they're unaware of how much it will piss people off to screw around with that; and the potential variables are too huge to make different game scenarios for different ME-trilogy choices.

Eh, a quick wave of the hand of god will fix those and any other problems.

Seriously, they've done it loads of times before. You picked Anderson as the Councillor? Overrulled, you always get Udina in the end. You thought long and hard over whether to save the Rachni Queen back in ME1? N'yeah... turns out that didn't really matter. You killed Wrex? Here's another guy who's much the same. Did you destroy the Collector base, or did you gift it to the Illusive Man? Didn't really matter in the end, did it?

Like I said earlier, if they got really lazy they could solve pretty much any discontinuity problem, up to and including whether or not the entire universe has become an organic-synthetic hybrid with nanobots or space magic or something.

And y'know what? There'd probably be a bit of an uproar, but I'd still play it. And I know I'm far from alone on that.

I kind of have to disagree with you. Yeah, the Udina/Anderson Councillor bull bothered me. You get one or two lines that indicate your choice and otherwise... Mmf. Same with the Collector base, I would've liked to have seen something come of that.
But big-picture wise, the Rachni Queen and Wrex both have big impacts. Not in the immediate story and that WAS a flaw; but if you didn't save the Rachni Queen, the Rachni are done for. Saving the "new" Queen results in her going on a rampage, some soldiers die, the Rachni are wiped out. If you saved the queen both times, the Rachni become part of the galactic community fighting the Reapers. Big picture-wise? That's a big deal.
And with Wrex being alive, you can't betray the Krogan without them finding out and withdrawing their support, whereas Wreav remains oblivious; and the outcome after the cure is different. Wrex does as he said he would and focuses on rebuilding; Wreav builds an army and plans war. If Bakara survives, she builds her own army to stop him. Those are massively different big-picture outcomes. The flaw isn't that your options don't make a difference- it's that they don't focus enough on showing you those differences.

Anyway. Just my thoughts. Also, if they do make a game in the future and screw with personal canon, I will NOT be buying it. I've spent too long trying to salvage the train-wreck ending in my mind to have it fucked with more. But I honestly believe that won't be the case and that they'll be looking backwards, not forwards.

 

[Bvenged]

I expect it will be called "Mass Effect: X, Y, Z" as opposed to a number sequal.

It's common knowledge that it won't involve Shepard or any story form the original trilogy, in any shape or form. It is likely to be a "prequel" of sorts, essentially a different, maybe multi-species protagonist, and set in the years before ME1-3.

That would be cool.

 

[Leoofmoon]

Giant space battles

With nothing but Shepherd package!

On topic I hope there gonna keep shepherds story going and finish it off right and not the middle finger of a ending.

 

[Nomanslander]

OT: Hopefully it wouldn't be focused on Shepard or the Reapers in any way at all.

Good!

No more Macguffin plot and bad guy being forced down our throats, and no more bullshitting cardboard-chosen one-ubermensch-cutout protagonist giving us alter ego masturbation with its wooden personality and charm. Now that we can get rid of all that rubbish, we can finally get to what really made Mass Effect interesting: the fine detailed universe.

 

[Judgment90]

I want to see more variety in your party members. I would want to see races like Batarians and Elcor squadmates, I bet an Elcor fighting would be hilarious.

 

[Sidmen]

I want to see more variety in your party members. I would want to see races like Batarians and Elcor squadmates, I bet an Elcor fighting would be hilarious.

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/139/9/3/mass_effect__elcor_warriors_by_lipatov-d50d2p0.jpg

Hilarious isn't the word I'd use for Elcor fighting....

Personally, I'd love it if they shifted completely away from the main storyline. Who cares if you know that somewhere out there the Reapers will come and kick everything over? I'm a brash intergalactic space pirate knocking over Salarian tech firms and Volus banks while slipping away from the Turian fleet and hiding out in Omega.

Or, I'm a mercenary with a job to do - protect the frontier human colony from bandits at all costs. When the job goes south and the colony's first family (as in president's family) gets kidnapped - I'm caught up in a web of deception and lies that takes me from this pissant colony out to the furthest stars trying to clear my name and prove my innocence.

 

[Avalanche91]

A game with a Prothean Protagonist? Guys, this is Bioware/EA we are talking about. Green protagonists don't sit well with the test audience. And space pirates would be far to interesting to focus on. So we are taking an established character and show what he has been doing in between games 2 and 3.

Introducing; Mass Effect; Jacob Cronicles

 

[The Wonder of the net]

Giant space battles

With nothing but Shepherd package!

On topic I hope there gonna keep shepherds story going and finish it off right and not the middle finger of a ending.

They said no to keeping shepards story going. Mainly because of the middle finger to the people who chose the wrong one. If they do have shepard it will be like a prequel or how GTA 4 got around using nico, by using the time line established but only it being back ground noise.

 

[AD-Stu]

I kind of have to disagree with you. Yeah, the Udina/Anderson Councillor bull bothered me. You get one or two lines that indicate your choice and otherwise... Mmf. Same with the Collector base, I would've liked to have seen something come of that.
But big-picture wise, the Rachni Queen and Wrex both have big impacts. Not in the immediate story and that WAS a flaw; but if you didn't save the Rachni Queen, the Rachni are done for. Saving the "new" Queen results in her going on a rampage, some soldiers die, the Rachni are wiped out. If you saved the queen both times, the Rachni become part of the galactic community fighting the Reapers. Big picture-wise? That's a big deal.
And with Wrex being alive, you can't betray the Krogan without them finding out and withdrawing their support, whereas Wreav remains oblivious; and the outcome after the cure is different. Wrex does as he said he would and focuses on rebuilding; Wreav builds an army and plans war. If Bakara survives, she builds her own army to stop him. Those are massively different big-picture outcomes. The flaw isn't that your options don't make a difference- it's that they don't focus enough on showing you those differences.

They might make a difference to the background noise of the game universe, but my point was (and remains) that Bioware was able to dismiss all of those seemingly-important player choices from previous games with a single sweep of the hand of god, in the interests of streamlining the following games and making them work.

And I'm sure that if they choose to set a game after the events of ME3 they'd find a way to do the same again. Sure, they might make it so there's some kind of nod to the player's choices in the original trilogy, and include some cosmetic changes to the background universe. But I don't see them letting that get in the way of making whatever game they want to make next.

Seriously: nanobots. Synthesis, controlled Reapers, the next big bad, all solved. You're welcome Bioware. PM me when you're ready to send the royalty cheques

No more Macguffin plot and bad guy being forced down our throats, and no more bullshitting cardboard-chosen one-ubermensch-cutout protagonist giving us alter ego masturbation with its wooden personality and charm. Now that we can get rid of all that rubbish, we can finally get to what really made Mass Effect interesting: the fine detailed universe.

Oh c'mon, this is Bioware we're talking about! Chosen ones having to find the macguffin to save the world/universe/whatever is their bread and butter - I don't see why simply moving away from Shepard as a protagonist would also make them move away from their successful formula.

 

[Gatx]

I wouldn't mind a sequel in the distant future starring someone else besides Shepard, but yeah they would have to canonize one of the endings.

Worst case scenario though: MMORPG.

 

[natster43]

I am hoping for either something set many years in the future, with one of the endings chosen to be the canonical path for it, or one set before and during the First Contact War. I also hope that you will be able to choose an alien race or at least be one instead of human.

 

[Rawne1980]

So that whole thing where Bioware CLEARLY STATED the next game would NOT FEATURE SHEPARD and merely be set in the SAME UNIVERSE, I dreamt that?

As far as i'm aware the next ME game will not feature Shepard as a playable character.

Whether he/she pops up or is mentioned is another matter. But remember this is BioWare of today we are talking about. Very little they say actually happens so it could be a new Shep trilogy for all I know. I've learnt to take what BioWare says and then ignore it completely and see what happens.

I have a sinking feeling in my gut that the next ME game is going to be a prequel though. They have already established some of the bigger events in the ME universe (like the first contact wars/Rachni wars) so it's far easier for them to do one of those than think up something shiny and new.

I say sinking feeling because I do not want a prequel.

I want to know what happens after the dust has settled on the Reaper war. I know what happened in the previous events, it's part of the lore. That's like making a game about saving the Titanic, we all know it's going to sink so it serves no purpose. We know the outcome of previous events so the "climax" is already gone.

Worst case scenario though: MMORPG.

Had to quote this because it tickled me.

I remember back when ME2 was newly released people were almost begging for a Dragon Age or Mass Effect MMO.

Then BioWare released SW:TOR.

Now some of us are begging for them NOT to make a Dragon Age or Mass Effect MMO.

 

[Judgment90]

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/139/9/3/mass_effect__elcor_warriors_by_lipatov-d50d2p0.jpg

Hilarious isn't the word I'd use for Elcor fighting....

may not be hilarious, but I still want one.

 

[Toastie058]

OP is trolling, right?

 

[6_Qubed]

What will they do for ME4? Hopefully abandon Mass Effect and work on some new and original IP.

New things are nice, much nicer than old things with bigger numbers in the title.

 

[Nomanslander]

Oh c'mon, this is Bioware we're talking about! Chosen ones having to find the macguffin to save the world/universe/whatever is their bread and butter - I don't see why simply moving away from Shepard as a protagonist would also make them move away from their successful formula.

This is how:

If you're going to go with another uber badass charming mofo? At least go with someone that actually is an uber badass charming mofo to begin with. Shepard was... wet tissue paper.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

-They can make a prequel.
-They can make a sequel and alienate all of the fans who chose the "wrong" ending.
-The last DLC they release for ME3 will actually be a post-ending DLC that will allow them to make ME4 after the events of ME3 without pissing off a lot of fans.

 

[BrotherRool]

It's easy enough, they said the main character might not even be a soldier. Just set a smaller scale story about a local conflict or a small region of space. Maybe some little world where all the major races have settlers and you get to choose which race you are (although that would be an animation nightmare).

There's lots of fun stories they could tell, they've just got to lower the stakes from 'saving the galaxy'

In a way it will help them, when the stories smaller scale you can do the KotoR trick where your choices affect a region that will never have bearing on the rest of the story again. You can overthrow a local warlord or reinforce him in some small colony and because your story is personal, there's no reason why that warlord existing or not would radically alter it



Or they make one of the endings canon and set a story 1000's of years in the future where the consquences have died down and the galaxy has rebuilt itself, Star Wars style